Sword Art Online: The Archangels
by Gelmra
Summary: Motivation Received. Continuing Story. The year is 2023 (I think... ignore the Prologue date), and Keita and Caleb are trapped in Sword Art Online. Their big Bro, Gabriel rushes in to save the day with nothing more than a note left behind. Though unbeknownst to him, only hardships and suffering await.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Watch The Anime, Based loosely on Anime, different storyline focuses more on the Archangels as a group... and it's leader Gabriel Frost.

Sword Art Online: The Brotherhood

Introduction: The Year is 2025 and the grand release of one of the most anticipated games of the  
century. The Release of Sword Art Online this game is activated via nerve-gear and a hard copy that  
installs the game into your NerveGear. The NerveGear is a device that controls your brains sensory  
parts ranging from, sight, touch, smell, hearing, and even taste. This process also pretty much  
deactivates your body. Putting you in something of a comatose state until the user logs out. Today is  
the day that Gabriel, Older brother of Keita and Canadian born citizen, bought two hard-copies of the  
game and was first in line three days prior to the launch. He ate nothing, he drank nothing, he did  
nothing for three days straight. Standing right in front of the doors for some time. He got the second  
copy and set of nervegear as well, but he pre-ordered both copies of SAO. Still the nervegear was  
another issue. The next shipment of it came today but NerveGear wouldn't be released until SAO was  
released and he had to make sure he got an extra set for his little brother... which he had done.

The grand launch of one of the greatest video games of all time, and it wasn't even being launched in  
North America, and especially not Canada. The feeling was heart-wrenching. However, he learned  
Japanese in the matter of a year or two. Still, it was far from perfect. Really far.

Currently, he lay in his room in three bedroom home with his little brother Keita, despite the fact that  
they were staying in a three bedroom house, Keita and Gabriel slept in the same room, because there  
was often times storms and Keita was afraid of lightning. Gabriel understood, Keita was afraid of a  
lot of thing to be honest and sometimes he got bullied on his way from home and Gabriel the protective  
older sibling that he is walks him home from school every day and makes sure that Keita maintains  
personal hygiene by showering every morning and cleaning 'his side of the room' and also washing his  
own dishes and stuff like that. Gabriel took care of fixing things and expenses, also budgeting and  
managing the medium of exchange that he worked for.

Gabriel sighed deeply, wondering what Keita was doing now, as he did he ran a hand against the smooth  
metallic surface of his nerve-gear's helmet "Oniichan?" His brother sounded somewhat tired, and the  
North American teen carefully set the bulky helmet on his night-stand, there was still a couple hours  
to launch, after some thought he was surprised that he could get his hands on one of ten-thousand  
copies of this game. Perhaps it was destiny, but then again people often considered him a tryhard and  
yelled at him for cheating and stuff of that sort. It made him feel somewhat down and he resorted to  
avoiding or ignoring those individuals, but being a pretty famous player, people also asked to join the  
guilds that he founded and personally managed: The Archangels, Nemesis, GFR, DiAs, xGHx, and  
several others.

"Yeah Keita?" He slowly turned his head to face Keita, and found that the black-haired thirteen year-  
old boy was standing with his arms crossed while leaning against the door frame, his eyes were half-  
closed and he looked fatigued.

"What're you going to specialize in, on the inside of the game?" He asked his older brother.

"What am I gonna specialize in?" He grinned, and laid down on his bed. Against the opposite wall from  
Keita's own bed. "I dunno." He said and folded his arms behind his head.

"You should eat before you start playing." Keita stated, he was honestly concerned for his older  
brother's well-being.

Gabriel, changed the subject and got to his feet then walked over to Keita as he realized this, because he didn't want little Keita to feel worried.  
"Hey, what's your username gonna be?" He asked, and patted his little Keita on the head. He was a  
whole head taller than him.

His little brother's cheeks turned a slight red, he didn't know. "Keita." He mumbled.

"And you're going to play as a character slightly taller than your own?" He asked with a smirk and  
ruffled Keita's hair. Interestingly, Keita had been a beta-tester, and Gabriel hadn't. So his  
little brother had a little more experience in Sword Art Online than him because of that, but it was  
Keita's first time, and Gabriel was an experienced MMORPG Player, but this was his first VRMMORPG.

Keita brushed Gabriel's hand off the top of his head. "Oniichan? Did you zone out again?" The boy  
asked Gabriel, who suddenly snapped out of his thoughts.

"Yeah... sorry Keita, I think a lot." He said, ruffling Keita's hair again. He brushed past the his younger brother to go downstairs and order pizza.

After a couple of minutes, Keita followed him. The activation of the server wasn't for another two  
hours, at 1:00PM. So pizza sounded nice.

After a couple of minutes though, Keita peaked his head around the corner, and looked at Gabriel  
patiently sitting at the table, his hands were folded and his posture was as perfect as always.  
"Oniichan?" Keita asked, and Gabriel slowly turned his head towards his little brother, wearing the  
same passive expression as always, the phone was set neatly in front of him as he waited, what a  
boring Oniichan.

"Yes, Keita?" He asked, and Keita's expression was unchanging as he yawned, but he didn't know how to  
describe Gabriel's voice. It was always so sad and he never smiled.

"I'm mad at you!" Keita raised his voice, and stomped his feet.

Gabriel instantly felt like he just died because his heart skipped a beat, and he felt his eyes get  
warmer with even more sadness. "What?!" He exclaimed, and nearly started to hyperventilate. Instead  
he sucked in a deep breath. "Why?" He asked.

Keita started giggling. "Calm down Oniichan." He was wearing a giddy grin. "You forgot to pick me up  
from school for the last three days." His smile got even brighter. Which, to a person like Gabriel  
seemed impossible.

"Oh sorry, I heard about how you 'really really really really really really really' wanted to play  
Sword Art Online with your big brother, and despite the game being extremely expensive and wallet-  
thinning, they said that whoever gets to be first in line gets a free set of the Nerve Gear and Sword  
Art Online Game." He said, with a slight smirk. Now a little calmer.

"I am happy, and I know what you did, you already told me earlier today when I first got home!" Keita  
started laughing and lunged at Gabriel. He wrapped his arms tightly around his Oniichan, and also dug  
his cheek into his chest. The heart of his Oniichan was pounding. "I love you Oniichan!" Keita exclaimed,  
and Keita started sobbing hysterically because he was so happy. "You're the best!"

For the first time since Keita's parents passed on after the accident, Gabriel got all choked up, and he  
hugged his little Keita back but despite how much he wanted to look like he didn't care about anything,  
he couldn't resist his own emotions and his eyes watered, but he did not cry. Yet his mind trailed off  
yet again as he let Keita go and then decided to continue waiting for the pizza as he thought about his  
family at home to take his mind off of the past.

His dad was a mean guy and pretty much the main reason Gabriel moved to Japan in the first place,  
calling him lazy despite the fact that Gabriel went running every night... weather permitting... to keep  
in shape. He didn't consume a lot of chips, but he did find himself drinking a lot of water while he  
played. The concentration required to play MMOs and even some First Person Shooters was intense.  
Seven years ago though, MMOs were easy, all you need was to face your enemy to attack but with  
advancements in technology came better pings, better internet and even better combat systems. The  
skill and timing required was comparable to actual sports and stuff like that. Well, Gabriel probably  
wouldn't know because he wasn't into sports... his father on the other hand was all for Hockey and  
worked behind a desk, still despite how much he yelled and sent spittle flying in their faces while  
completely intoxicated he never actually physically hurt any of his children. He was a really hairy  
guy, that was tall and pretty scary with ice-cold blue eyes. Gabriel shuddered uncomfortably at the  
thought of body hair.

"Gabriel?" Keita asked, and rested his cheek on the table.

"What's my family like?" Gabriel responded with a semblance of smugness on his face, Keita just looked  
at him with wide eyes.

"Waow! How did you know that's what I was going to ask?" He asked, his brown, but nearly red eyes  
shone like dark-rubies. Holding innocence and delinquency. He was getting to that disobedient age,  
Gabriel would know.

"I had a feeling you'd ask it... but anyway," He said with a smirk. "I think that I should start by actually  
telling you who is apart of my family... there's My dad, there's Caleb, There's Mom, and then there's my  
little sister," He hummed to himself. "Who should I talk about first?" He asked Keita.

Keita let out a 'hmmm' as he thought about it as well, "I think... you should talk about... Caleb!" He  
exclaimed and Gabriel seemed to grimace but he let out an amused grunt. Gabriel's version of  
laughter.

"Caleb is my identical twin who smiles all the time and is eccentric, always happy and always bugs me  
whenever I'm playing MMOs. He also picks on me a lot and calls me pessimistic and stuff along that  
line. It hurts sometimes but he's my favorite of the entire family." Keita's eyes glittered as he stared  
intently at Gabriel. "Of course, Caleb has a lot of secrets that he's entrusted to me and I'm not  
willing to share any of them due to a promise I made... and I'm intent on keeping my promises."

Keita smiled, "I understand Oniichan!" He giggled.

"Okay. Good, next up is mom, her name is Angie Frost." He stated, and smirked. "She's a nice lady, and a  
surgeon. She's the one helping us pay for this house alongside my current job." He stated and then  
looked towards the door. "On the other hand, she's the dominant one when it comes to my genes and  
responsible for this hair, and these eyes." He stated and smirked.

"Really? She must be really pretty..." Keita stated and Gabriel's cheeks turned somewhat red with  
embarrassment.

"Where did that come from? Don't compare how I look with an individual of the opposite sex! It's weird!"  
Gabriel stammered as he crossed his arms and let out a huff.

Keita started giggling and Gabriel's cheeks burned an even brighter red, he then sighed as he let out a  
deep breath and the color slowly faded from his face. "Anyway... you should see my brother... he  
looks like a girl." He smirked.

"But you and him... are identical twins aren't you?"

Gabriel nodded slowly, and then hypothetically threw the insult that was directed towards his twin  
brother in the trash. "Nevermind, my youngest sibling looks like a Girl. Celestia Frost." He stated  
bluntly and nodded hesitantly. "She's obnoxious.. annoying and she's almost exactly your age. In the  
same grade I believe, but she doesn't speak the same language. She speaks English." Gabriel stated and  
wore a grimace as he thought about past memories of Celestia.

They continued talking about his family and after huffs and outbursts of embarrassment because of  
things Gabriel told Keita, launch time came and despite really wanting to play the game. Gabriel  
watched the news for awhile to see the biggest release of video game history... ever, after they had  
both eaten their share of pizza of course.

Keita went on ahead without Gabriel to start playing the game, but after about an hour... Gabriel  
received a strange text from a blocked number that told him to come to the door. After swallowing  
his anxiety and making towards the door even despite the fact that he's watched numerous horror  
movies where one of the characters follows instructions and dies... he did it anyway. As he slowly  
approached, lightning flashed through his window and it was followed by thunder... just as well loud  
knocking made him jump with fright and he heard chuckling from the other side. He gripped the metallic  
handle of the door, gritting his teeth and rose both fists as it flung open inwards and smashed into the  
wall. What he found was unexpected... and his eyes widened with horror and surprise; he found himself  
staring into the face of a rain-soaked white haired 14 year-old, who looked like a mirror image of him,  
save for the long and completely soaked hair. The warm caramel eyes of his younger twin were filled  
with amusement and he playfully stuck his tongue out at Gabriel.

"Caleb, what the hell are you doing here!?" Gabriel asked and couldn't hide the happiness exhibited in  
his eyes. Caleb was here? In Japan... how did this...

"You going to invite me in?! Mom says, GO TO JAPAN AND HELP!" Caleb laughed. "So I did... but I also  
got these..." He had been hiding both hands behind his back but he showed what he was hiding to  
Gabriel, and the more serious of the twins couldn't help but let out what sounded like gasp of  
surprise.

"NerveGear... and even a hard-copy of Sword Art Online?!" Gabriel looked skeptical. "How did you get  
your hands on these?!" Gabriel demanded to know, actually interested in something for once.

"Pre-ordered, showed proof of purchase because I paid in full ahead of time..." He stated with a grin,  
and Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Everyone who got a copy did... so I guess I shouldn't be surprised... you  
probably copied me two years ago..." He dismissed his surprise as quickly as he could and Caleb  
looked disappointed with Gabriel because of it.

"I did copy you... but you should act a little more happy and surprised... because y'know... I worked  
really hard to keep it a secret from you... you know... the whole starting to become a gamer sort of  
thing." Caleb smiled slightly, but he looked kind of depressed, and it made Gabriel feel bad, because he  
felt that nobody should have to suffer except for him. He was the one that suffered for his entire  
family, so that everyone else could be happy.

"I am surprised, Caleb. And I'm also... h-" He couldn't say the word and Caleb's eyes brightened. To  
Gabriel they functioned like highbeams and he couldn't help but avert his eyes "Ha~" He tried to say the  
word but he choked and couldn't really spit it out, Caleb nearly started laughing. "Content." Gabriel  
grumbled and grabbed Caleb by the sleeve then pulled him inside and helped him with his box and  
gamecase, he'd have to install another game onto another individual's Nervegear. He sighed deeply and  
then turned his head to Caleb, the outgoing and happy twin of the family, he hung his coat on the rack  
and then slumped onto the couch. "Gonna play?" Gabriel asked him.

Caleb just nodded slowly.

"Want some pizza first? Got your favorite... reminded me of you- I mean home." Gabriel let out an  
embarassed groan and opened the box containing Caleb's NerveGear.

"I missed you too." Caleb said and when Gabriel turned to look at Caleb, he just smiled, and Gabriel  
almost couldn't resist the urge to do the same. "From anyone else... saying that would've been weird  
and awkward... but it just makes sense coming from you." Caleb got back to his feet and took a piece  
of the pizza... He bit it and quite simply... wolfed it down like he hadn't eaten for the past year.

"Huh... hungry?" Gabriel asked as he cut open the box and began the installation of Caleb's game onto  
his NerveGear. It would take a few minutes.

Caleb just nodded his head covered in completely drenched white hair and when he turned his head to  
continue eating his pizza... Gabriel smiled slightly, but then turned and started walking to the  
bathroom. "Gonna get you a towel... might shock your head if you play like that." Gabriel joked,  
speaking with a dead serious voice and an unchanging expression. Caleb just 'hmm'd' in  
acknowledgement because his mouth was full. Gabriel peeked into his room and looked at Keita. He  
was already in game, playing and probably getting to a pretty decently high-level. So Gabriel  
proceeded to the bathroom and checked one of the large cabinets for a clean towel, he grabbed the  
one at the top of the pile so the rest wouldn't topple over and bury him alive, and also make a big  
mess of the folding that he had done. He groaned resentfully as he reflected on how much work  
housework was. It was timeconsuming and left him with barely any time to play. He shook his head and  
walked back to Caleb, and just threw the towel at him, which Caleb caught with his head. He started  
to dry and looked at Gabriel with a warm and... thankful expression. "Fanks." He said and smiled,  
wearing that expression he used whenever he acted cute for the girls.

"Whatever." Gabriel stated and pointed with a thumb at Caleb's nervegear. "Installation is done. you  
can play now if you want." He stated.

Caleb nodded excitedly and swallowed the last of the pizza. He got to his feet and nearly ran for the  
nervegear, which he picked up and took into one of the spare rooms. "See you there!" He waved a hand.

"Yeah." Gabriel stated and then turned on the television and flicked to the news only to find the  
horrifying video of a woman crying on a live broadcast and screaming at the camera about how her  
baby was dead now. Gabriel swallowed and felt his anxiety start to build up and he had this feeling...  
the video stopped and it went back to the studio which showed a concerned asian woman with what  
looked like bloodshot eyes and dried tears. "Reports of youth, children, and adults alike state that  
sudden removal of the 'NerveGear' results in death and at least thirteen people have died due to it...  
as well as over two hundred other players have died for what appears to be no apparent reason.  
Kayabe Akihiko was also found dead wearing a set of 'NerveGear' himself... nobody knows what is  
causing this horrifying turn of events but we ask that you do not remove the nervegear from anybody  
who is wearing it... doing so will result in death." She nearly started sobbing. Gabriel felt tears well  
up in his eyes as well but he didn't know what to do. "Of course... do not lose hope... even though he  
was found dead, Kayabe Akihiko left a message behind, stating that if a player beats the game in the  
alleged castle named 'Aincrad'... all players will be released. nobody know how long this will take  
though... but all players who have been recorded purchasing a copy of the nervegear will be  
transferred to the hospital and taken care of." She said and that was when she and Gabriel both  
broke down and started crying at the same time. He didn't know what to do now... the game he wanted  
to play so badly was now killing people. He got up and ran to the last room as fast as he could to  
warn Caleb but when he got there... it was too late.

"Link Start!" Caleb ordered and once again Gabriel was left alone... both of his brothers... were now  
in the deathgame... but why were the other players dying? The ones who didn't have their nervegear  
removed were dying as well... was it because they were dying ingame?

he wiped his eyes and sniffled, the feeling of emptiness made itself obvious as he stood there, staring at  
Caleb... his now dormant brother who had just finished plugging the gear in and intitiating the link  
between his brain and the nervegear, which took full control of the brain's five senses. "What do I  
do?!" Gabriel wanted to curl up into a ball and just cry to himself and be there waiting for his  
brothers to wake up... or... he sobbed as he thought of the second possibility. That was when his  
MMORPG instinct took over. "She said... somebody to beat the game." He clenched both of his fists and  
the hateful and resentful part of his personality took over, "I can do this..." He wiped the tears from  
his eye, "I'm an MMORPG master and I'm not going to let some stupid bug like being stuck in there until  
somebody beats the game take any of my brothers from me!" He slammed his fist into the nearby wall  
and walked with heavy footsteps back towards the kitchen, grabbed a piece of paper and pen, then  
started writing a note:

'Dear World,

I am Gabriel Frost and I request that who ever finds this message make it obvious to the entire world  
that after seeing the reports of people dying in game and the only way of getting everyone out is to  
beat the game... I've decided to enter the World of Sword Art Online and save everyone there!

Tell my family that I love them, and that... I'm sorry to cause them this grief... but regardless of what  
anybody thinks of me... I will bring as many as I can back with me... not because I'm some stupid cliche  
hero, but because I have to save my little brothers!

P.S. Until I get back, I leave my body in your hands.'

Gabriel continued to try and stop the tears by wiping his eyes with his forearm, he made way back to  
his room and finally... he posted the thing on his door and laid down onto his bed. He pulled the helmet  
over his head, and turned to look at Keita for a moment. The boy was wearing a content smile and  
Gabriel let out a deep sigh. Trying to calm himself for signing his death warrant and handing it to the  
devil, his breath was shaky and sweat beaded on his brow. He turned away from Keita and looked up  
at the ceiling through his visor, and finally he spoke the words that would seal his fate, and the deal  
with death... he had to stop being so pessimistic. Funny he'd say that... "Link Start!" He shouted the  
words and then he was consumed by temporary psychological blackness, followed by white lettering on a black screen... and the screen was his vision, he felt a sense of vertigo and nearly panicked but then for some strange reason that he couldn't place a finger on... he felt excited in anticipation for what was to come next.

WELCOME TO SWORD ART ONLINE!


	2. Chapter 2: Death Game

Chapter Two: Death Game

The clear bronze skies and the setting sun would've been notable were it not for the fear that began overtaking him, rumors of adults jumping off the edge of the game, children dying. They all yelled at him for logging in and declared outright that they were all going to die. What? What do they mean, they're going to die?! We just respawn don't we? Apparently not, accordingly to the people who sent spittle flying through the air as they yelled... when we die in this simplified world, we also die in the real world. Our brains are fried like they're thrown into a microwave and what's more... his older twin was still out there. He shook off his focus and he fought back his tears as they continued to yell and scream at him.

"Are you an idiot?!"

"What are you Stupid?!"

"Why throw your life away?"

"We're all going to die!"

"Fool!"

"Idiot!"

"Moron!"

"Dumbass!"

The taunts were endless and he felt all hope slowly begin to fade from his mind, the world slowly began to look a whole lot gloomier and there was no light in this darkness., his brother wasn't here to save him, and- he blinked once as he noticed the shimmer of white hair gracefully make his way towards him. 'Great now I'm completely insane' Caleb thought to himself as the owner of the white-hair stepped forward from the crowd, shoving one of the players aside, the white-haired mirror image of himself didn't stop to apologize and didn't even flinch at the cold expression he received from those around him. His expression was cold, emotionless but the fire and will that burned brightly as people looked at him to start threatening or pushing back forced them into submission. He spoke no words, but they all knew who he was. Gabriel. Caleb smiled once again, the light aura that Gabriel gave off purged the gloom and darkness of the world until Gabriel shone so brightly that Caleb was forced to look away. Was this really the same boy that had empty eyes and trouble smiling, was this Caleb's twin? What happened to him? 'He probably heard it on the news,' Caleb thought dismissively.

"Settle down." Gabriel, the boy who walked towards him stated bluntly. He stopped in front of Caleb and turned around to scan the crowd, jaws dropped from shock, eyes widened with wonder, and the rhythmic whispers of Caleb's twin Brother's name being chanted by all those who had come to surround the two of them. "I'm Gabriel, and I highly recommend that you shut the hell up, instead of wallowing in self-pity and standing around here to wait for new players to spawn just to call them idiots or wait for 'a savior' to come along and lift the burden from your shoulders so you can divert from your allocated path, nobody else is coming. Those who do, haven't seen the news. Those on the outside are aware of what's happening and are going to be transferring us to hospitals, where we'll most likely remain on life support until we die or beat the game." Gabriel stated, his voice was hard, powerful, and lacked the quietness that he often spoke with. He spoke with a certain frankness but nobody started crying their hearts out. Caleb was in awe, and he wiped his eyes to hide the tears of joy that were caused because his brother had come to his rescue once again, "With that set aside, clear out and go kill some monsters and keep a heavy supply of health potions... don't play too cautiously or recklessly, and make sure you don't break Rule Number One." He stated bluntly.

"What's rule number one?" They seemed to ask in unison like kindergarten students willing to learn from their favorite teacher, Caleb couldn't help but smile as Gabriel made them feel better just by being an awesome player and giving them simple advice.

"Don't die." He stated then shrugged with an eyebrow raised, "Oh yeah... I think it goes without saying that PKing is not allowed!" He raised his voice and then grabbed Caleb by his sleeve. He pulled him through the crowd without interruption and despite how he knocked everyone aside when he first acquired Caleb, and how they should be angry at him; they all just started to follow him as he dragged Caleb along, there was at least thirty in the entire group and not one strayed from the course. Caleb wondered if they felt the same way about Gabriel, an undying light in the grim darkness of the news that if they died here... they died in the real world. "We're going to the potion shop. They should have a high stock of them and a fast restock speed." Gabriel stated and continued forth with his excessively low amount of starter money and painfully low-stat starter-gear. None of that actually seemed to bother him, he just continued walking at the same speed, almost completely oblivious to the individuals who were following close behind the duo.

Finally, once they got to the shop, the massive grouping of individuals, along with others who strayed into the group stepped inside and were followed by the rest of the players who seemed to watch Gabriel purchase the items and then did exactly the same, purchasing exactly the same amount despite having different playstyles and weapon skills. Of course, some of them stumbled with the information and lagged behind, but Gabriel slowed his speed once he left the shop until he knew nobody else had been left behind. 'So he doesn't mind them following him.' Caleb thought, and bumped into his older brother's back as he came to a sudden stop at the edge of town and turned to face the group, brushing Caleb to his side with what Caleb could only translate as a warm-hearted smile, despite his unchanging facial expression.

"I presume that all of you have the listed items: 4x Small Health Potions." He stated and everyone nodded or raised their hand to indicate that they had done so, at which point he just nodded slowly, "I understand you've never responded to me before, but as you all know I'm the leader of several dozen successful guilds which means I require a crystal clear answer, and also... all of the members were either max-level or a lower level than me and we were noted as being one of the best guilds because of our discipline, skill, and respect." Gabriel paused for a moment, "What made us the very best guild was that the fact none of us ever lost a duel in our career or died," He continued wearing a slight smirk, and the rest of them just nodded intently. He yawned and itched his hair, "As of now I'm recruiting you all into The Archangels, and we'll start acquiring the funding the build the HQ today, we're diving up into three combat-teams and six squads, each squad will have five members and if you do the math you'll find that each combat team has two squads." He stated with a clear bluntness as he hid his interest perfectly. He continued to stand with his arms crossed and eyes in what appeared to be a hyper-alert state, compared to the half-closed and dead-looking eyes that he usually had at least. The group listened carefully, "I'll be picking the members for my squad now, our current task is to grind boars until the amount of XP we get is minuscule, that should be in about six hours at level thirteen. Don't distribute stat-points until I tell you otherwise. We meet back in this exact position at..." He opened his UI and the time was displayed in the top right corner.

'His UI is different than mine... did he make this one himself?' Caleb noted thoughtfully as he stared at the Red Glow of his twin brother's UI (User Interface).

"...12AM." He nodded and they nearly started running off in different directions, but he rose his arm with one swift movement and held a hand up for them to stop. Caleb nearly started snickering.

"Caleb, you're with me." He stated bluntly, and then seemed to think for a moment, "Wait, hold on... are any of you friends that were already playing together?" He asked and the vast majority of them raised a hand. "Then that makes this easier... divide into your group of friends and give the other groups about three feet of space."

They did as told, and before Caleb and Gabriel stood several groups of friends. "Okay... your group, with that group..." He repeated himself several times until all that was left behind was a group of three, a group of two, Gabriel, Caleb, and another three lone wolfs. Perfect division and numbers.

"Okay... everyone that's left you're with me, and as for everyone else... run off into the field and get the job done." He stated and everyone else did exactly that. Caleb only hoped that they figured out who the combat team's leader was and fast. Gabriel didn't assign one for each team.

Caleb turned his head away from Gabriel and examined the group that would be with them for the quest Gabriel assigned, it was hard to believe that these people were the same ones that had made fun of him, there was a couple that looked disinterested in parties and social activies, a girl wearing a hood that shrouded her facial features, a boy with black-hair dressed in a brown-leather vest and primarily blue clothing. Then there a duo consisting of a large dark-skinned man, a teal haired man already wearing light metal armor, most likely because that was one of his four starting skills. The trio that Gabriel was left with consisted of three players all wearing bronze heavy armor, their faces were obscured from vision but Caleb knew that the trio thought they looked pretty cool in that armor, the three of them carried Zweihanders and wore smug smirks on their faces, but they crossed their arms and seemed to nod at Gabriel in unison. That last lone wolf was wearing a barbute that he purchased whilst carrying a sword and buckler. He looked smart... and cute... Caleb shook the thought from his head, and then turned back to Gabriel. "You three, with Teal-hair and big-guy." He stated and got each group to go together. "your slow attack speeds can chain together a lot easier and you should all be able to one hit a boar with those swords anyway." Gabriel dismissed and then pointed at the three solo-players with three seperate fingers... on the same hand. "You guys look resourceful, we're officially promoting ourselves to the rank of Archangels, and the other members of our Combat team are hearby promoted to the rank of Lieutenant... everyone else will be promoted based on their performance and ability to give results." He stated and the three solo-players perked up a bit, "Party invites sent..." Gabriel stated and Caleb quickly spun his head over to a notification that nearly made him jump, it gave off a ringing nose and he accepted it by pressing the holographic button on his UI. A new panel came up on his Hud, displaying names and health bars, a small list of 10 names. He felt sick, there was so much movement and he wasn't used to the green bars being in his peripheral vision.

"Kirito... Asuna... Garost... Caleb... Diabel... Agil... Kuro... Senzo... Kenzo... Kage." Gabriel read out loud. "Easy to say, and easy to remember." He stated bluntly. "Diabel, you're in charge of second squad. Now let's roll out!" Gabriel shouted, drew his scythe and charged into the fields towards the middle. To the thick of it.

Not a moment too soon, Gabriel charged a sword-skill as he ran. Caleb did the same and the rest of them followed suit, the bright and glowing red light they gave off probably could've been seen from the town and Gabriel let out a battlecry as he neared one of the boars, and lunged, then slashed diagnolly downwards, he sliced three straight of the creatures straight in half, began spinning and charged another skill, at which point he thrusted with the top of his scythe and continuously used that sword skill, which utilized a fast charge speed. The rest of them came to a dead stop and avoided the scythe. Eventually, they all fanned out and started to chop down boars just as fast as Gabriel, they did it so fast that they had to wait for several minutes by moving on to the next area and clear it out... then go back and clear out the area once again. They repeated the process for several hours until Gabriel and his team had leveled up so much that they were now no longer being affected by the XP.

Of course Caleb found that they all had distinct styles and that the men with the Zweihanders each had their own playstyle which fit perfectly with one another. They switched slowly but pre-emptively... they were so awesome. Of course, Kirito, Asuna, and Kage (the guy wearing the cool-helmet known as a barbute) also struck nicely, they mowed down hordes of boars together, but of course... Gabriel with his seemingly over-powered stat set-up just chained his movements together into attack, he was hard to see and Caleb was always surprised by Gabriel whenever he looked like he finished a combo, he just swapped movements and used his 'Soul-Chip' swordskill, then followed up with a 'Soul-Reave'. It looked awesome in Caleb's point of view. Soul-Chip was the thrust with the blunt-top of his scythe and Soul-Reave was the downwards and diagonal slash with his blade. It was slower to recharge but Gabriel just used his thrust to stun the enemy temporarily with knockback.

Caleb sighed dreamily... the deathgame was going to be a lot more fun than the others let on.

...

Several hours later...

12AM, Floor #1 Just outside the Town of Beginnings

The faces of those around him looked eager to present their progress and levels, but Gabriel would have none of the pride of being a leader of a Guild founded with thirty members just like that... on the spot. Everyone was still alive, and hadn't just so happened to slip and fall over the edge, or get killed by a level one creature despite starting with stats that far surpassed the level of the boar. Kirito, Asuna, and Gabriel hadn't used any of their potions because of their methods of attack, from the side, and from behind. They exploited the Boar's weakness or slow turn speed to attack and kill the creature. Of course, being the hardest grinder on the planet (take it how you will), Gabriel came in first, and whether it was in his blood or not, Caleb came in second, followed by Kirito, Kage, Asuna, The Zweihander Trio, Agil, and Diabel... in that respective order.

"I... wonder... if Keita is okay." Gabriel seemed to mumble out loud and Caleb just patted him on his shoulder, wearing a big grin.

"He's probably fine!" Caleb chuckled light-heartedly, and in response... Gabriel just shrugged his brother's hand off.

"I do not need reassurance," Gabriel muttered, "Keita would not die on me... he can't he's not capable of doing so." Gabriel said, his voice sounded hard and emotionless at first but Caleb could tell from the tone that he was hurting inside, not knowing where Keita was, and the uncertainty of not knowing whether he was dead or alive. "Alright, everyone transfer your Col to me and I will purchase a building that we can call a home, with multiple barracks, three floors and other recquired facitilies." He stated, wearing sad eyes.

"SIR YES SIR!" They all shouted in unison, and Caleb's eyes widened, and Gabriel tried to hide his surprise, but then he jumped as somebody patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey... Gabriel... I'm a really big fan!" It was Kirito and Gabriel stifled a display of emotion known as happiness, because he wouldn't be able to keep on letting them think he was a stone-cold leader that was respectable and knew how to make people better without even having them think.

Gabriel looked at Kirito with bright eyes, but an unchanging expression, so he didn't look like a serial killer. "Really Kirito? I've never heard of you before... usually my really big fans try to send me requests to join the guild." He said, his voice sounded like he was joking but his expression remained empty... as always.

"You noticed?!" He asked while wearing a big and proud smile, "I didn't want to send a request because I didn't want to come off as one of those players that just wanted to... you know... be your friend... get items, send a random request for no reason... that sort of thing. So I stayed quiet and played most days hoping I'd run into you. It never really happened, but I ran into a lot of your guild members while playing... DiAs, Nemesis, Archangels... and now I actually get to be a part of the Archangels! A guild owned by my idol!" He exclaimed and Gabriel just nodded slightly.

"You're intelligent Kirito, and I'm glad you tried to meet me in person on the field, but I apologize for never actually providing you with the opportunity because of how I am constantly busy running several different guilds and also providing new players with guidelines, walkthroughs and et cetera. " He said and chuckled apologetically, "But I'm glad to have you with me now Kirito." He made eye-contact with the black-haired boy who possessed delicate facial features and a somewhat feminine appearance. His hair was as long as Gabriel's, and his eyes were grey and were as glorious and beautiful as moonstones, he also smiled with white teeth that possessed a brilliant white shine.

"Thanks." Kirito mumbled, somewhat embarassed, but also happy.

Caleb cleared his throat and pointed with a thumb at the rest of the group.

"Right." Gabriel stated and turned back to the rest of them, "Okay guys! did you get that done?! Now let me tell you what your focus is going to be and how to distribute your stat points." He spoke with a clear and calm voice.

"Yes Sir!" They shouted, "Understood Sir!"

Gabriel felt like laughing because of how disciplined they were acting, he got their respect just by being a role model. "Alright... I'll be assigning roles for each of you... Combat Team One your role is assault. Therefore you'll distribute twenty of your stat-points into your Strength, which affects your consitution and amount of health. The rest can go into you agility." He yawned.

"Combat Team Two, you do the same, as for my team... we're focusing on agility to launch heavy attacks at faster speeds, which increases our overall DPS, but we have a lot less health, so we're counting on the assault to aggro most of our enemies while we focus on killing the dangerous enemies." He stated bluntly, "That's all for that, but now..." He brought up his inventory screen and distributed a hundred col amongst them all. "Go and rent a room at the nearest inn. We meet at the townsquare at five O clock in the evening tomorrow." He said and offered a thumbs up, and finally they all let out sighs of relief and waved goodbye to Gabriel, the leader of the Archangels, and the apparent star of hope for these individuals. "Well Caleb... time to go find a builder." He stated, and sighed deeply... like the whole day was just a complete drag.

'Of course it is... he feels responsible for Keita, and he doesn't know where he is right now you idiot!' Caleb nearly smacked himself but Gabriel just looked at Caleb with a smug look in his eyes. Caleb gulped, and wondered if Gabriel was some sort of mindfreak that could read the minds of others around him.

"And if I am?" He asked out loud, and just started whistling as he walked.

"W-what?!" Caleb exclaimed.

"Oh... nothing..." The distance between the two slowly began to increase but Caleb charged after his brother.


	3. Chapter 3: Danger Zone

Chapter Three: Danger Zone!

Floor One: Denizens (Danger Zone!)

5:21 SAO TIME Month 1, Day 2  
Denizens, 21 Minutes after Gabriel's meeting

Sword meeting sword in the dark caverns lit only by torches and the glow of sword-skills. Even despite the dimly lit caverns, Keita's fury blinded the Kobolds that stood in his way and he chopped most of them down with ease, he would not fail his oniichan now. He could not. He would make it back alive! But now... Sparks flew and the glowing light dispersed, sending a gust of powerful wind that blew the duelists away from one another, Keita's hair was blasted back out of his eyes. He was fatigued and his fringes had been soaked with sweat that only exhibited his concentration, "Why can't I hit it?" Keita asked himself bitterly, panting and inhaling deep breaths of air. He was exhausted, and literally getting tired of this endless parrying war. Not a single scratch was lain on either of the two warriors, but the Kobold just looked like it had a malicious grin on it's face after all of the parries had been exchanged-

FWISHK!

-Keita winced with pain, the feeling was real but probably not as real as it should've been, but regardless as to whether it was real or not it still freaking hurt. The slash across his chest from a monster's sword sent pain coursing through his body. It hadn't hurt like this during the beta, but now the threshold for the pain-damper most likely been lowered. So now it was just... ouch. He looked at the Kobold Warrior, carrying it's short-sword and buckler to block Keita's attacks and weaker sword-skills.

He lunged at the Kobold warrior, after undergoing a process of charging one of his sword-skills. The hit struck the Kobold's shield with a loud clash and sent sparks, mixed with the dissipating glow of his sword skill. Keita charged yet another sword-skill, letting out cry of his rage. He slashed downwards and brought his curved sword upon the Kobold, it's life bar dropped into the yellow and it just slashed back as Keita. The hit was devastating and the pain was excruciating, but Keita did his best to shrug it off... He watched with terror as his health-bar gradually dropped and stopped right in the red zone. Was this going to be the way he died?

Keita drank a health-potion as the Kobold clanged it's sword against it's buckler and the following text appeared above it's head: 'Reinforcements'.

'Great, more of them...' Keita sighed deeply and watched as the Kobolds spawned and quickly charged towards Keita, whose life seemed to flash before his eyes...

4:59PM SAO TIME Month 1, Day 2  
Town of Beginnings, A minute before the designated meeting time.

In the town of Beginnings square... and despite all the praise and happiness those around him were feeling... Gabriel stood quietly. The heartwrenching feeling that he was currently experiencing was beginning to annoy him. The feeling of something being wrong but not knowing what it was... what was it? Caleb suddenly waved a hand in front of his eyes and Gabriel sighed deeply.

"Gabriel?" Caleb sounded concerned when he said the name of his older twin. He didn't even have to ask the rest of the question for Gabriel to know what it was.

Gabriel slowly turned his head towards the younger twin. "Keita," He mumbled quietly and let out a sad, and shaky sigh. The voice he spoke with gave off the feeling off loss, it felt as though a piece of himself had been ripped from him suddenly and the pain of it was excruciating. After the pain gradually begins to fade and you awaken to the real world once again, only to find that it's not just another one of your dreams, and you're never going to get that one piece back. Nope, never going to happen, and everytime you go to look for that piece of yourself, whether it be a body part, or your best friend... you'll realize that it's not there, and it'll be like an old wound that you open because you twisted in the wrong direction and the pain comes back; as bad as ever. "I-" He stopped himself as his eyes watered and he choked on his words. It was followed by a hard swallow and the hardening of his expression, he would show no signs of weakness or fallibility to those around him, it was bad for morale.

"It's okay to let others know how you feel, Gabriel..." Caleb smiled somberly, it was a heavy smile, one that felt like a burden on Gabriel's shoulders. More weight for him to carry regardless of whether he wanted to or not...

"Those words feel like extra weight on my shoulders," Gabriel stated honestly and suprisingly (even to himself): openly.

"Then maybe you should stand on the floor like you got nothing to prove, rather than on the ceiling like you do, because avoiding everyone and being all on your own is more of a burden to us and to yourself, breaking all the rules of gravity and all that jazz." He paused for a moment to let out a exhalation, "besides... I don't think the blood going to your brain is good for you and something like that." Caleb chuckled, this time... the smile was a little lighter and the spark in Gabriel's eye was enough to keep the eldest's will of fire going... for now.

"That's funny," Gabriel smirked, "because you're saying that you're support is uplifting but I'm upside down so it feels like weight on my shoulders..." He nearly let out a chuckle but just planted his face into his palm and shook his head with disbelief at how simple but effective the logic was.

"Yeah it was so funny that you forgot to laugh... much less smile." Caleb sighed exaggeratedly.

"Smile, and Laugh?" He turned to Caleb, wearing an all too familiar confused expression. "Those two words are not a part of my vocabulary, what do they mean?" He asked, expression unchanged.

"Come on, your laugh and smile aren't that bad... I know you just don't do it because of how everyone always asks to go out with you... even that one boy asked you... remember?" Caleb started laughing at the recollection of the memory... again.

Gabriel's face flushed red, "H-hey... it's not that funny!" Gabriel stammered and lost his composure for once, it was fun for Caleb to see his brother let go of the 'stone-cold guy on an ax killing spree' side of his personality. Most people would say that he's just: 'The Cool kid', or something along that line. Caleb the younger twin and more socially dominant (but not by far) of the two... in terms of talking to people face to face rather than just using a microphone and 'skyping' or utilizing chat boxes, forums, groups and all that internet jazz to talk. Of course, Caleb had nothing against the people who did it, or anything against even doing it in the first place; it was just a matter of personal preference... texting was fine.

"Of course it's funny! ... he asked you because he thought you looked feminine and had a personality one could only dream for... 'you're personality is so deep and caring, and your skin is so soft with a unique smoothness that only a girl could dream for, your facial features are cute... your hair is so beautiful... a-and you look better than almost all of the girls in this school, will you go out with me?" Caleb snickered and covered his mouth to try to stop himself. "Do you remember what you did after that 'cute' little nervous-stutter Gabriel?" He bit his knuckle and clutched his side, because it burned from the laughter, he couldn't stop himself.

"I... ran." Gabriel murmured, he was red with embarrassment. "...I didn't do it on purpose, it just surprised me and I didn't know how to react, I have nothing against individuals who enjoy intercourse or performing other sexual or erotic activities with people of the same sex! They're great people!" He exclaimed and sighed deeply, "Whatever." He waved off the conversation and continued to carefully make way through the crowd to the forefront of the group. Only Caleb would notice the extra bounce in his step, because it was minuscule and he was Gabriel's twin-brother.

"But hey... remember that one guild you were in?" Caleb asked, grinning diabolically like he knew he stepped across some sort of line, but he figured Gabriel would just give a boring reaction this time... it wasn't as embarassing.

"The death of me," Gabriel let out an annoyed sigh, he disliked the Crossed Swords. Here's hoping to god they didn't somehow follow him to Japan or get into the online servers with some sort of nerve-gear that they may or may not have ordered online, along with SAO. 'Meh, it's a Japan exclusive' He thought dismissively.

"Well, we've got a meeting to take care of," Caleb sighed, wearing a smirk.

Suddenly just then, what felt ike a shifting in something that wasn't meant to shift made Gabriel feel on edge, "I felt a disturbance in the code." Gabriel whispered, his voice was horrified.

-  
5:22 PM SAO TIME, Month 1, Day 2

The young-warrior inhaled sharply through his barred teeth as another strike met it's mark, then another, and another. Then a blade sliced into his tummy and straight through, making a violent exit out through his back with a certain frankness, it felt like a dream... then it felt like horrifyingly painful reality. So he did what any 13 year old would do and screamed as per the pain with tears trickling from his eyes, the liquid trailed from the cheek to chin, then splashed upon the blade as it fell swiftly, fighting futily against the metal it could not stop. The Kobold seemed to grin maliciously as Keita let out what he truly believed would be his dying breaths, he was sure blood would come pouring out of his mouth like in the movies... that thought was ironically what made him turn pale and cold with fear. Glowing red wounds covered his entire body, leaking his HP. His health lowered from the green, down to yellow, and finally red. It slowed with inhuman torture right before it emptied... and that's when he remembered... "Oniichan!" He screamed, though it was futile, he wouldn't hate his Oniichan for not keeping his promise. He was engulfed by the black void.

Little did he know was that he was being watched... from the glorious shadows.

2:07AM October 21st, One Year Ago... Right After receiving the news that Keita's Parents Were killed in a car-accident.

His oniichan wasn't a very nice guy on the outside, very rough Japanese and not very talkative unless somebody speaks to him first or asks a question, or even for help. Despite his sandpaper personality oniichan always lends a helping hand. Right now it didn't matter, he didn't want Gabriel to help anyone else, he just wanted Gabriel to be there for him, always... no matter what and no matter where... when Keita needed him most he wanted his Oniichan to help him, to save him, to be there for him.

Right now, Gabriel just stood quietly, standing before Keita wearing an expression that exhibited his devastation, he was on the verge of tears. Keita was sobbing uncontrollably and Gabriel showed no signs of any emotion on his face, which is probably how Keita was going to end up feeling... numb... empty, and unfeeling. His oniichan was just making an effort to stare blankly into the eyes of the police officer but he could see his oniichan's lip quiver when he stopped talk. Oniichan was trying to keep all emotion at bay, "What happened?" Was all Gabriel asked, and Keita couldn't hear anything, but he reached out for his Oniichan and the world seemed to fall away from him, he didn't remember what happened after that...

Some time passes while he remains unconscious.

When Keita woke from violent nightmares, and slumber he gained from shock, it was 8:03AM, and his eyes were still soaked with tears and for a moment he thought it was all just a dream. Until he didn't hear the T.V. blaring on full-blast stuck on the news channel his mom and dad always watched, it was dark outside and the T.V. screen remained black and lifeless, so he turned to his Oniichan for answers. Gabriel sniffled, it took Keita awhile to realize he was in Gabriel's arms. He just hugged oniichan tightly and resumed sobbing uncontrollably, "Stay here..." Keita mumbled quietly to Gabriel, "Don't leave me all alone..." He knew it was futile because the people who were taking care of Gabriel were now... gone, he sobbed even harder because he just now reminded himself.

Gabriel voice was warm, and vibrant, filled with emotion that sent all of the sorrow into it's corner when he spoke to Keita, whom he would take care of for the rest of time. "Don't worry," Gabriel said quietly, his voice sent vibrations into Keita's cheek, which was resting against Gabriel's chest. "I'll be here when you wake up, and I'll keep on staying with you... I'll keep you safe... until you no longer need me, consider that a promise." The words were sincere, and Keita felt... content, he yawned tiredly after waking from hours of crying in his sleep. Gabriel was soft, warm... and... Keita loved him.

Keita fell asleep, wearing a slight smile, because he knew his Oniichan would be there when he woke up.

5:31PM SAO TIME, Month 1, Day 2  
Denizens, A whole half hour after the meeting

The shadows in the cave seemed to move and twist, a light-source being blocked and a man wearing a barbute filled Keita's vision. Though his vision was blurred, he had regained consciousness... he was... alive? The humanoid wearing the barbute just stared blankly at him then offered a hand... to help Keita to his feet. Keita accepted the hand and wrapped his arms around him graciously. "Thank you!" He exclaimed and just started giggling with giddiness.

The man just grunted and invited him to the party. Keita knew he couldn't do anything but accept the invitation and paid full atention to his health bar, which was now full, his wounds had healed and he was no longer bleeding HP points.

He read the list of party members and sighed deeply, it was Keita, Kage, Kuro, Senzo, Kenzo and Garost. He had no idea who any of these people were, but he did know that this one in particular saved his life... The other member's health bars were all greyed out but that was probably because of the seperation feature in this game. Where it no longer shows you team health bars and denies all contact when a 'trap-path' is triggered. Which basically prevents an individual or small group from making contact with the rest of the party after being teleported to another location. The man standing in front of Keita was Kage, and he appeared to be mute... or maybe it was just because of his status rendering him unable to talk (shadows don't talk).

"What are you doing here?" He asked Kage, and let out a sigh. One that exhibited relief for himself still being alive.

Kage just shrugged and continued to move forth, Keita could only wonder what happened and how he was saved from the jaws of death... this felt... weird... was he even alive? Keita disregarded these thoughts for now and just ran after Kage, who was putting a lot of distance between point A and point B. He was doing it pretty fast too.

They walked fast for some time. Ultimately, they came upon a door which required a key to open, and quite conveniently, the monsters that possessed said key spawned in front of Kage. Who took care of the situation with extreme ease. Honestly, it was so easy that he held up a hand to stop Keita from getting involved. After this, he just charged forward and chopped them all down with one hits and his amazing skill... Keita felt jealous because of it. The man finished the task in a rather short span of time, and the room was vacant as they advanced.

They advanced through more and more rooms until they finally came upon a colloseum with three different entrances, at which point the man known as Kage simply sat in the darkest corner of the room, enjoying his time with the other inanimate shadows or something like that. At least he sent a message: 'Wait here', just by sitting there on the ground. Keita let out a groan as he sat down, he wondered why he still felt the pain of the old wounds, but realized he was just remembering how the pain felt... he hoped he would forget it... fast. Just the thought of being stabbed through the stomach, having your internal organs punctured by a blade, which went straight through and severed the spine, numbing the lower-half of his body then rupturing out the other side with a fountain display of warm red liquid that was meant to stay inside him- he shivered and felt cold...

A few hours later...

9:02PM SAO TIME, Month 1, Day 2  
Denizens, A few hours after the meeting regarding the Archangel's Temporary HQ

In the dark, dank, damp, and most importantly: nasty-smelling Denizens of the Kobolds a trio seperated from the trio's original leader-figure named: Kuro and the guild-informant: Kage, follows their newly established 'Guild-Leader' throughout the Cavern in search of valuable item drops and experience; Fate had an entirely different plan however.

"How long have we been walking in circles?!" Senzo slammed a fist against the wall, agitated... nothing new there; it was commonplace for Senzo to be agitated.

"Hey, Senzo... in case you haven't noticed... we've been walking in a pretty straight line, especially considering how we're inside a mapped-cave and heading in one direction based on these compasses we purchased for a mere 200col, from one of the general stores." Kenzo stated and in return, Senzo just let out an aggravated sigh.

"Yeah that's exactly what the guy on the round-a-bout said, and do you know what I find stupid?! The fact that we're using compasses... under-freaking ground... I mean... do they even work properly... and who does that?" Senzo sighed deeply and face-palmed. "We're all fuh-reaking insane man... you know how stupid we'd look to people passing by us? Just walking quietly with an arm extended as we stare down at our compasses..." He shook his head.

"Just shut up... you're always so pessimistic... why can't you act a little more like Gabriel?" Kenzo asked, and let out sigh, because that would be the day... the day he experienced happiness.

"Act? Act?! Why the hell would I act, instead of being who I am?" Senzo demanded and as Kenzo was about to answer they came to a massive room, at which point Gabriel muttered bitterly, listening to those two bicker the entire time was barely bearable. It made him feel like he gained thirty-four years.

"We're here, and the answer Kenzo was contemplating giving you was: Because being who you are right now isn't as good as being Gabriel... of course he thought better of it." Gabriel called to the younger teens, none to pleased that hed been babysitting them the entire journey... he hoped Kuro was still alive, otherwise he'd have no tactical use for the Zweihander trio, considering how the other two members of the trio completely relied on Kuro to keep them organized.

"Oh great, a giant freaking room with multiple entrances... I wonder what will come of this... 'BOOM!' monsters everywhere!" Senzo exclaimed and ignored Gabriel, but fortunately for Kenzo, and Gabriel... the jinx didn't work, and Senzo's words simply bounced off the words and right back at him with audacious fury.

"What's up with the similiar usernames?" Gabriel asked and let out a deep sigh.

"Ah, me and Senzo are twin brothers, just like you and Caleb, but Kuro is the eldest of the brothers in my family." Kenzo stated with a smile, content with giving Gabriel that information.

"Mmm, right..." Gabriel stated, unsure of how to respond because he was currently feeling irked at how easily he obtained that information, no resistance whatsoever... next question was for the more rebellious and easily angered of the two, because it would be more... fun.

Gabriel yawned as he stopped walking in the center of the room then just proceeded with the process he usually made whenever he entered what could be described as a safe area... he checked his messages. He scrolled down through the unread messages, only getting about a dozen within the past half-hour about how people thanked him for the building, being a great leader, and most importantly... a message from his younger twin, he opened and read the contents.

Subject: Keita!

To: Garost  
From: Caleb  
Time Sent: 5:47PM SAO DAY 2, Month 1  
Time Received: 5:51PM SAO DAY 2, Month 1

Hey, Caleb here. Just gonna give you some information on your little brother from one of his buddies... well actually, it was sent to me from 'Kage' at about 5:34PM. He found an individual with the username Keita. Thought it was important that he include that he saved the person from death with less than ten-health points remaining. Of course, he ended up passing out, but Kage included that Keita is now conscious and at full health, a little shaken though.

Oh yeah, one more thing... if by any chance you get held up on this dungeon-run, try and message me back... if you're not back we'll just assume the worst and burn some sticks for you in remembrance.

Sincerely Yours in any way you want, Caleb Frost the Sexy (Take it how you will)

Gabriel sighed deeply and sent a reply: 'Have you taken your medication recently?' The story behind that was simple, ever since he was little, Caleb has had a disorder in which he can't control his lustful thoughts as well as most individuals and reacts with emotion to a circumstance instead of logic. Which results in pansexuality and an intense infatuation with his older twin and some insane fetishes which he has no... 'control' over... allegedly.

He instantly received a reply: 'I love you.'

Gabriel bit his tongue, and made a sound that came out as a cough but was in reality was just a disguised chuckle, he sent another reply: 'Will keep in touch'

'Touch me... Hold me... Love me!'

He shook his head and bit his tongue harder, hoping the pain would cancel out the sudden impulse to laugh... and it did, so he closed his UI and scanned the room more thoroughly, on the other side... approximately three-hundred meters away, he could make out two different figures sitting in a corner. One was sitting on a rock in that extremely familiar, bored of sitting on bench instead of participating in the game or event pose, and the other was sitting with his legs crossed in that shadows as though he were some sort of dark-monk. So boring. He walked over to them anyway, thinking that this might be the Keita individual and Kage, and as he neared he could see that he was exactly right about this being Keita and Kage. 'YESSSS!' He nearly shouted the word but just continued to walk towards them, his heart-rate hastened... and suddenly as he got closer... he found him... Keita... on the second day after being saved by... Kage.

Keita slowly turned his head, finally hearing the footsteps of Kenzo and Senzo, but was confused when he saw Gabriel, and the hurricane of emotions that Keita experienced was insane. He ran toward Gabriel and-

WHAM!

SMASH!

PUNCH!

HUG!

Gabriel ended up on his back on the ground after being tackled, smashed into the ground, punched in the face and finally hugged. He didn't really feel the punches but he knew how Keita felt. Probably though Gabriel was an idiot for getting himself mixed up in this death-game for the sake of saving his two younger brothers from almost certain and inevitable death.

"You idiot!" Keita sobbed.

"Did I take too long?" Gabriel asked, forcing the breath out of his lungs, due to the fact that his thirteen year-old younger brother was laying on top of him. Not heavy at all... yes he was heavy.

"No! Why would you come in here?" Keita cried.

"To save my brothers."

"That's so stupid!" Keita sniffled and wiped his eyes, but he couldn't hide that he was grateful.

"Really? From what I hear you were nearly killed by a Floor One: Monster and saved by Kage... an individual who never talks but is also ironically my best informant." Gabriel rambled, and Keita just stuffed a rag in his oniichan's mouth and got back to his feet.

"Shut up... I wasn't nearly killed..." Keita shivered, completely horrified with that concept. Death... he had to much to look forward to... supporting his friends, being awesome like his oniichan and... and... he... wait... I don't care about my first kiss do I? "OH god!" Keita exclaimed out loud, "I'm Gay!" He paused and turned to his oniichan who just pinched the bridge of his nose in response, Keita couldn't even see the expression Gabriel wore. "Bree... Els... younger brother... eh heh heh... heh." Keita's cheeks turned red with embarassment

Gabriel also got back to his feet after being slammed into the ground by... Keita, who just now realized his own sexual orientation, even if Gabriel had everything against what the crossed swords stood for and their guild in it's entirety... he would support Keita whole-heartedly, he suddenly felt a plan come together... "You can have my twin brother." He stated bluntly and then turned to guide the group out of the caverns... "He's pansexual." He bit his tongue and continued to wear an extremely straight-face.

"I don't even know him... to be honest I'd rather be with-" Kage smacked Keita across the face who just yelped in response and Gabriel fell face-first onto the ground and ended up instantaneously unconscious... the shock... here's hoping he is not the victim of cardiac arrest.

* * *

**_A/N:_** **SOMEBODY! HELP! GET A DEFRIBRILATOR! PLEASE! ANYONE!**

**Gabriel: I'll be fine.**

**Caleb: TOUCH ME! HOLD ME! LOVE ME! -is being dragged across the ground whilst clutching Gabriel's leg-**

**Gabriel: For the most part.**

**Kage: ...**

**Keita: -rubs cheek depressedly-**

**Kirito: ...I think... that I should have more spotlight! -smile-**

**CHAPTER 4: Kirito x Asuna **  
**Coming Soon!**

**Kirito: Really?**

**-slaps knee- Mwuah hwuah hwuah hwuah hwuah hwuah...**

**Anyway. Chapter Four will go more into detail about the headquarters of the Archangels.**


	4. Chapter 4: Asuna

Chapter Four:

7:59AM SAO Clock, Day 3  
Archangel Headquarters

They were in Gabriel's office, made of wood and furnished with a desk, two office chairs and hardwood floors... along with blunt decorations that sat around his room. Like the pointless window behind him which showed the back wall of some ugly wooden building. 'So what now?' Gabriel thought to himself as he looked to Asuna, whom he had called here because he decided that he needed to speak with her. Right now, he was completely oblivious to why and could not explain what possessed him to even do so... but he knew enough to say he did it or a reason. So he began thinking and fixed his gaze on her for a time, the chestnut hair and obscured eyes spoke to him, her head was lowered and she did not look content with her position.

"What's on your mind?" He asked her, then bit his tongue; he hated sounding like he cared.

"I... don't know." She muttered, he could tell she put a lot of thought into that question but decided that her leader didn't want to hear a list of problems that went on for three hours and consisted of at least a thousand different problems.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me..." Gabriel said, he bit his tongue harder for saying such stupid things, but even still his straight-lipped mouth softened slightened. "I'm an authority figure and not easy to talk to... although I do recommend finding a friend you can share your feelings with." Gabriel huffed through his nose.

"Who are you to make recommendations?" She glanced at him then looked back at the surface of his desk again.

"Ah... sorry. I'm not trying to make you feel like I'm opposed to how you're..." Gabriel sighed and cut himself off, "...My bad, let's just say I'm trying to pay attention to how the rest of the guild members are feeling." He grumbled.

"Whatever, I'm not concerned about how I feel. Seeing as how I'm just going to end up dead anyway." Asuna mumbled quietly, the resignation was rather prominent and the will to live was not.

"You make it sound like you want to die." Gabriel understood how she felt, Keita went through something very similiar to this as well.

"I don't want to die!" She exclaimed, and tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't want to die, but I don't know what to do!" She lowered her voice and started to sob.

Gabriel's expression softened slightly, the change was only marginal but detectable. "You know... I have a twin brother and a younger brother." Gabriel began, clearing his throat awkwardly. "My younger brother lost both of his parents, experienced grief and showed it openly. I can't say I felt as bad as he did but I can say that I forgot how to smile." He nodded his head slightly, "And no... he's not my biological brother, we adopted him and I live with him in his home town." He stated bluntly and she sniffled slightly in response.

"Wouldn't he just be better off being adopted by somebody he knew?" She asked with teary eyes.

"Maybe... maybe not... but I made him a promise the morning after his parents died." Gabriel tilted his head slightly and looked at her curiously.

"What was the promise?" She stopped crying as fast as she started and made an attempt to sate her own curiosity.

His cheeks turned a slight red. "I promised to look after him, and stay with him until he no longer needs me... because he told me to stay with him." Gabriel lowered his voice slightly and cleared his throat awkwardly.

She smiled and looked at him like he was the best big brother ever. "Awww..." She wiped the tears from her eyes.

SMASH!

"GABRIEL!" Keita smashed the door inwards and looked at him with expressive and lively eyes. "Silica said yes!" He exclaimed and Gabriel blinked twice.

"Well that's great." Gabriel stated, but showed no actual indication of himself thinking that it was great. He just stared at Keita, "Did you figure out how to knock yet?"

Keita grinned impishly and then glanced at the back of Asuna's head, "Why? So you can talk to your girlfriend... privately?" He asked. His tone of voice was inquisitive in nature.

Gabriel just stared blankly at Keita, "I don't see how that can be considered private given how long you wre standing outside that door listening to the entire thing." Gabriel .

"False sense of security?" Keita shrugged wearing a smirk, "I still think that you're making a mistake."

"I don't make mistakes Kei-chan." Gabriel looked at his younger brother who just grinned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"With that out of the way... I'd like to give you the mission and details. Send it down the chain of command after giving several copies to the rest of the archangels. Kage found the labyrinth and has already gotten rid of the field boss... and just so happened to have already located the bossroom." Gabriel stated. "We're going forward with everyone else to enter the labyrinth, head to the boss room... kill it... and disperse into smaller teams once we get to the second floor... activate town portals and finally meet up back here by the end of the week." He yawned and stood up from his seat.

"Roger!" She shouted and was out of the room walking with a little more life in her step.

Gabriel on the other hand felt rather proud. "His close call with death might've done a lot more good than bad... because ironically... he has a lot more guts when it comes to talking to people nowadays." Gabriel stepped out of his office and re-equipped his primary weapon: DarkLight Assimilator. It was a weapon with a special ability, the effect the ability had was extracting an extra 7% XP when killing a monster, essentially it was a display of the monster's death shards being absorbed by his weapon. "Here's hoping he's still Keita when we get out of this." Gabriel stated, completely oblivious to the presence of Caleb, his twin brother.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Caleb chuckled then patted the elder twin on the shoulder.

Gabriel barely reacted, just the unseen flick of his eyes in Caleb's general direction. "Encouragement from you usually means nothing." Gabriel stated bluntly.

"If I didn't know you as well as I do... I'd almost feel hurt." Caleb laughed because it's what he did when he said the opposite of what somebody would expect. Were he a normal human he'd get mad and defensive about it.

"Why is it so hard to smile?" Gabriel asked suddenly, turning around and looking at his brother as curiously as a child asking where babies come from.

"It's not unless you've experienced a chain of traumatizing events in your life... or a single extremely traumatizing event that prevents you from smiling, because doing so may vividly recall the memory or something like that." Caleb shrugged and did not even hesitate to answer the question.

"Hey Caleb." Gabriel's eyes got slightly colder and pierced into Caleb's brain, sending a foreshadowing message of the future if he continued down the present path...

"Yeah?" Caleb asked, raising an eyebrow... he would not submit to Gabriel.

"Shut up." Gabriel's eyes watered slightly but then he turned and walked off... to proceed with the mission.


	5. Chapter 5: Darknesssss

SAO Archangels Chapter 5: 1st Floor Boss

DAY 6

The trip took two damned days... but most importantly two of Gabriel's days... two freaking days... no food... no water... no rest... no sleep... no stopping. Over the course of two days... the Archangels were like a machine moving by sheer force of will, but when we got to the Tavern nearest the Labyrinth which ultimately lead to the first floor boss room... they were in the hay faster than any single human could say: Caleb is weird.

At any rate, the day was now the sixth day in the World's first and hopefully last DEATH GAME. Over five hundred players are now dead.

"I'm kind of nervous..." Keita stated and he tried to do it quietly but his voice echoed throughout the corridor they walked through. His words spoke for almost the entirety of the group, save for Kage and most notably: Gabriel who didn't even stop to notice the eery scenery as they waltzed on into the Labyrinth which housed the Boss-room. Gabriel was unfazed by everything around him for better or for worse but he displayed no indication of being overconfident or... any other negative emotion on the lines of overconfidence. It was when Keita spoke that Gabriel came out of his trance, he just stopped and slowly turned his head towards his younger brother.

"Why?" He asked and opened his inventory. The expression which Gabriel wore did not display any sort of disbelief. It displayed what could only be described as honest curiosity.

"Haven't you looked around recently? We're inside a creepy dungeon-like area which has pieces of stone broken off the walls, smashed support pillars and cobwebs all over the ceiling which are only lit only by torches which could burn out at any moment and a Ruin Kobold Trooper can spawn and give us a random jumpscare!" Keita exclaimed and received nods of approval from some other members of the guild.

"You're just being paranoid..." At that moment, a Ruin Kobold Trooper spawned right in front of Gabriel and he used a one-handed Black Steel short-sword called: 'Impaler' to stab the monster in the face and straight through the back of it's head. The Kobold died on the spot and Gabriel cleared his throat as soon as the Kobold exploded into an expanse of pixel dust. He sighed deeply, annoyed with how this was going to play out; of course it couldn't have just been a long boring walk through a creepy looking corridor... it just had to have monster-spawns. "Where there's one there will be more! Everyone, draw weapons and stay at the ready!" Gabriel kept his short-sword equipped so as to not hit any of his fellow comrades whilst killing Kobolds (which would happen if he had his Scythe equipped). He would not be responsible for killing three different human player with one strike, and they would all obviously thank him for it... but it decreased his overall combat efficiency... not that it mattered because he had approximately fifty players which all had about 2313 HP each with a combat level of twelve and up, save for the Archangels who had over double that and also over double the combat level. "So uh... What's your level?" Keita asked suddenly and Gabriel glanced at him, "Around thirteen." He lied openly and they all continued to walk in silence.

"Coincidentally that's how old I am... what made you say thirteen?"

"What a coincidence... No, you got me... that's the entire reason why I said thirteen." Gabriel sighed again, he felt stupid for being so insanely obvious.

"So what's your real level?" Keita asked, a little more inquisitively. Gabriel probably shouldn't have lied to him... but he just felt that nobody needed to know.

"Mine is 24." Caleb stated bluntly and received a couple gasps of surprise from the Archangels.

Kirito laughed somewhat nervously, "And mine is only 21." He said.

Gabriel's left eye twitched... his virtuous nature was beginning to come into play and the lies his fellow Archangels told was beginning to eat away at his psychological state. "Kirito wasn't the lowest level of the group... he was level 24, and Caleb was level 21... the lowest. Kage was the same level as Kirito. Asuna was level 23, right under Kirito and Kage..." He paused for a moment and stopped walking, everyone else listened intently and stopped in complete synchronization. "And then there's me... your Leader... the main boss... the head honcho... the Archangel Prime... the guy who is here for only one purpose... Gabriel Frost." He stated bluntly, "My level is..." He turned with glowing eyes to the rest of the Archangels. "...Something that I don't want to talk about." He quickly turned and continued walking, reverting back to the more common: cold expressionless eyes. The funny thing about the glowing eyes is that his facial expression did not change in the slightest.

"You know Oniichan... you really remind me of the Mona Lisa."

"And you remind me of a big baby who lost a duel to a girl... what was her name? Kirigaya Suguha?" He slowly turned his head towards Keita. He felt smug for some reason, not because he thought any less of Keita because of the fact that he lost to a girl in particular, he believed in gender equality, but he was amused by how his younger brother took the loss.

Keita's eyes lit up with fury comparable to two individual suns, but Gabriel's eyes darkened like two different Black Holes and simply absorbed the light, then ripped it into an infinite amount of pieces that could not be comprehended by the human eyes.

Keita turned pale and after realizing the look grim-dark look he was getting... Gabriel slowl turned his head and his eyes returned to their normal and passive state and they continued to walk quietly through the long corridor. Kirito tapped Gabriel on the shoulder, "H-hey... did you say uhm... my sister's name?" He whispered quietly so that only Gabriel could hear.

He shrugged, "Sugu-chan?" He asked, "I guess I did... if she is your sister." He sighed suddenly.

"Really? You know my sister?!" Kirito sounded excited for some reason, Gabriel shrugged again. "Yeah, she's a pretty nice girl... smart, athletic, compassionate, driven and also somewhat... solitary." Gabriel stated.

"How well do you know her?" Kirito asked, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Ah... I don't really know her... She's Keita's friend but tags along with us when we go and grab pizza and talk for an hour or so... but she only tags along every once in awhile because she has training and stuff like that." Gabriel yawned boredly, the noise echoed throughout the corridor.

"Oh... I see... well... uhm... do you like her?" He mumbled quietly.

"Yes... because she talks to me like a normal person... not like some crazed horde of fangirls" Gabriel seemed to let out a dreamy sigh, "I suppose that would be something to look forward if I make it out of here alive... talking to 'her' again... hm." His mouth loosened into a straight-line.

"It's the small things that matter... like smiles." Kirito stated with a smug smirk but then Gabriel rose a hand with lightning fast reflexes for them to stop, they did that exactly. "Here that?"

Faint whispers echoed through the dark corridors, then suddenly the lights all blew out, and they were engulfed by darkness. Then a sudden pain in Gabriel's stomach.


	6. Chapter 6: First Skirmish

SAO: Archangels

Chapter Six: One for the team...

Gabriel tried to suck in a breath, but found that he couldn't breathe. The feeling was dread-inducing. It was now dark in the corridor and he couldn't see anything but he could hear something. A high pitched noise filled with pain and fear, it took him a while to realize it was the audacious noise of a girl screaming followed by something he could only describe as bullet casings hitting the ground to his left... No... that was the sound of another player dying and as the shards exploded, they cast a bright light throughout the corridor. Because of this Gabriel felt like all the blood just drained from his body, a Ruin Kobold Trooper stood with it's teeth barred and hot steam blew from it's mouth into Gabriel's face. Because of this Gabriel felt like all the blood just drained from his body and he couldn't feel the warmth of it's hot slimy spit that nearly coated his entire face... It confused him because of how cold it felt... and so did the draining green bar in the top corner of his vision. Then he glanced downwards, to find the Kobold Trooper's sword sticking into his abdomen, red light was gradually draining from his body. "Oniichan!" The desperate cry came forth and snapped Gabriel out of his numb trance.

"Can't... die... now!" Gabriel groaned, wincing because of the pain that felt like a thousand needles puncturing the same spot all at the same time. Even still, he fought through the pain and ultimately slammed his left fist into the monster's face with so much force that the noice cracked throughout the corridor louder than even a whip. The Kobold Trooper was sent it flying backwards. But now wasn't time to celebrate because Gabriel gasped because of the next sensation... the blade that had been violently stabbed into his abdomen was violently ripped from his  
body; it felt like the same billion needles being torn out at the same time followed by an excruciatingly painful burning sensation. He glanced at his health bar, finding it dangerously low and so far in the red that the next hit on him would kill him. "That hurt." Gabriel clenched his teeth and grasped his stomach. Then, as the Kobold recovered and charged towards Gabriel to land the final blow... The eldest twin gracefully twisted his body to avoid the second lunge then twirled his Impaler around his wrist to switch how he held it, now the shortsword was being held with the blade and handle inverted. To top off his grace and glorious display he quickly charged a sword skill. "[Death Needle]!" He shouted out loud and ultimately: Gabriel slammed his blade directly through the beast's head which was followed by the satisfying sound of bone crushing under Gabriel's absolute power and strength; even despite his fatigue and lack of health.  
The Ruin Kobold Trooper exploded into a mass of light-shards and with an emotionless face that had satisfaction written all over it. Gabriel unequipped his Impaler and finally brought forth the Scythe.

"Everyone! Group up and don't let yourselves get surrounded!" Caleb shouted, and it figures... Asuna and Kirito didn't listen, the duo in perfect synchronization with eachother filled Gabriel with awe as they mowed through the Kobolds, sending bit and pieces of the monster's bodies flying in different directions, which eventually exploded into shards. Were it not for the encumbering realization that he had gotten another player or maybe more killed, then he probably would've felt pretty happy about how effective the duo were. Then with a flash of movement, he switched to a battle stance and held the scythe as though it was just another part of him.

"Keita!" Gabriel called to his younger sibling, hoping that he'd get an answer.

"Oniichan! Over here!"

The White Reaper or Gabriel Frost quickly spun around and sprinted towards the sound of the voice, only to find a horde of Kobolds between him and his younger brother. "Caleb! Kage!" He shouted and that was enough, the two of them were by his side in an instant. "You know what to do..." He stated and the two nodded at Gabriel, defending him as he charged one of his most powerful Sword-skills. Even now, a pulsating aura filled the dark corridor with luminous and warm ribbons of light that resembled flames. Then they faded, and exploded into an awesome power than drained Gabriel's HP in return for extra power. "RAAAAAAGH!" Gabriel screamed at the top of his lungs, slashing diagonally at the group and he did it in a flash, stopping almost the entire formation off with just a single strike, and with such precision that on the other side of the Kobold formation he did not hit Keita. Who simply gasped from sheer fright as the Scythe nearly clipped his nose, but the air was sucked away from Keita... his mouth widened with an awe-inspired smile.

He sighed dreamily, "THAT WAS AWESOME!" He then shouted into Gabriel's face... whose eyes were closed, he couldn't bear to see how close he had come to death... for only two HP remained... he let out a sigh and just patted Kei-chan on the head.

* * *

A/N: **Sorry about that, something happened with the formatting and screwed over the first impression. -sighs- It's always something.**

**Still I'd like anyone to leave a review behind... about what they thought of the chapter and what went wrong.**


	7. Chapter 7: Second Skirmish

Sword Art Online: Archangels Chapter Seven

"How many did we lose?!" Gabriel exclaimed, killing the last kobold that plagued these corridors like a blight in the code.

"Five." A voice echoed vibrantly throughout the corridors and filled Gabriel with pleasurable chills. An enjoyable voice.

Gabriel didn't recognize the voice and turned to see who it was, but only Kage stood before him. "Kage? Was that you?"

He just nodded his head and took a step forward, standing beside Gabriel and planting a hand on his shoulder. "Do not lose sight of our ultimate goal, now or ever. Or you will be the death of many more than just five." Kage stated bluntly then just brushed past Gabriel.

Gabriel's eyes narrowed slightly, he felt as though he had just been called weak by his best informant. He gritted his teeth and tears welled up in his eyes. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry I brought you here and couldn't keep you alive," he mumbled and dropped to his knees then buried his face into his hands - he sobbed quietly for a few moments.

"Gabriel..." Caleb whispered softly, kneeling next to Gabriel - Caleb gripped his shoulder and Gabriel could feel his younger twin shaking.

Gabriel removed his hands from his face to looked at Caleb directly. "I'm fine." He stated, all emotion had once again disappeared from his face. Though he wasn't prepared for Caleb's expression, his face was twisted into barely surpressed anger.

"We're going to beat this game, and everything will be fine after that." Caleb growled, then stood up and offered hand to Gabriel.

Gabriel clenched a fist and took Caleb's hand with his own free hand, and was then pulled to his feet. "Thanks." He stated, a flash of a smile appeared for a moment but it disappeared instantly.

"Alright, we're moving onward. Casualties have been assessed. Overall combat effectiveness has dropped but only marginally, reserve forces are at seventy-percent." He stated, and for the first time since he joined this world he actually authority in his voice. It now boomed across the halls. "Orders are now to stay behind me. Vector-Formation." He stated bluntly and made the formation without complaint, "Okay, Kirito, Asuna, Zweihanders - Protect the rear. Caleb, Kage, Agil, Diabel, and Keita - we're in the front. Everyone else is to kill any Kobold that gets within five feet of you." Gabriel stated.

"Why the fu-" Diabel began but stopped himself short as Gabriel's head turned directly towards him - those eyes... those piercing menacing eyes. "Okay!" Diabel ran from the crowd to stand beside Agil - who was on Gabriel's left. Keita stood beside Caleb - who was on Gabriel's right.

"Let's move!" Gabriel boomed.

The Formation of Archangels moved without confrontation for some time - until an entire army of Kobolds spawned in an up-front confrontation - no tricks with the lights this time. But everyone played their part, Gabriel attacked with his White-Harvest Skill, a skill that caused a massive flash of light followed by instant death to those caught in it's attack. He took down the majority of those that spawned but Keita, Agil, Diabel, and Caleb handled the rest before they had a chance to get into the Archangel's formation.

In the Meanwhile... at the back of the formation.

"RAAAGH!" Kuro slashed diagnolly at a group of Kobolds - knocking them back with the power of the attack, "Senzo!"

"Roger!" Senzo charged towards the Kobolds, launching the next attack and slashing them across the chest. More Kobolds closed in on Senzo as he recovered from the attack - [Infinity Strike]. At the last second came Kenzo, slashing overtop Senzo as his brother kneeled to avoid the attack - The Kobolds were knocked back.

"Kuro!" Kenzo shouted.

"Don't you Kuro _me_!" Kuro charged one of his offensive sword skills - [Slicer]. Then he brought the sword diagonally down, slicing over seven Kobolds in half in the blink of an eye - the momentum caused him to twirl, and instead of fighting it he used to to his advantage - with extraordinary timing and skill he charged another offensive skill [Tornado] and started to spin in the same direction, moving into the masses of Kobolds he sliced a dozen in half before calling the words once again. "Swi-"

They were way ahead of him - Asuna and Kirito both charged their sword skills. Kirito went first, slamming into a kobold whilst letting out an enraged battlecry. Asuna in the meantime used linear on a single opponent and killed it instantly. "Talk about _overkill_." Kuro laughed and as a Kobold came forth from the masses to land a strike on him he just laughed at the pathetic effort then slammed the Kobold's sword aside with the Zweihander. He charged another sword skill, this one went downwards and diagnol - [Decisive Strike]. The Sword skill met it's mark with a loud smash and the Kobold exploded into neon-red glass that faded to white.

"Shut up and fight!" Asuna responded after a moments delay, she charged [Linear] once again and slammed into another Kobold - which exploded into the same neon-red glass that faded to white.

"Senzo! Kenzo! Form up! We're using_ that_ skill."

"Whoo!"

"Are we ready!?"

They formed up anyways and the masses of Kobolds closed in once again, now enraged and gnashing their hideous teeth at the trio and Kirito and Asuna - they were beginning to get pushed back.

"Now!" Kuro and the rest of the Trio charged their sword-skills simultaneously, and once their aura's made contact, the sword skill exploded with power. "TRINITY FORCE!" The trio charged, letting out a deafening battlecry - as though their voices were made more powerful by the flames of power that encased the Trinity Force. They slammed into the Kobold horde and the impact rang through the halls and it made Kuro's ears ring - but still, even as they slammed into a wall of Kobolds, the Kobolds were the ones sent flying backwards onto their butts and they all began exploding like fireworks, filling the corridor with blinding white neon-glass light. The Trio continued to mow the Kobolds down, and none of them seperated from formation, the single attack killed the vast majority of the entire Kobold horde, and as the Trio came to a stop in the center of it, a massive bright light blinded everyone, then a rush of heat followed by the shockwave - then ultimately it was over.

When the dust began to settle several minutes later, Kuro came out coughing and faced the rest of the archangels - it was all he could do to drag his feet along and hope to not pass out. They all stared on with dropped jaws. finally Kenzo and Senzo also exited the dust-fog. "What?" Kuro looked at them like they were crazy.

They all started cheering and charged towards the Zweihander Trinity Force - next stop... the boss room.


End file.
